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Take pride in our children’s future

As a life-long resident of Spring Valley and the son of two Spring Valley teachers, I am proud to say I am voting “Yes” on April 9 for Hall High School. I hope those of you who are undecided will take time to read this letter and consider the reasons to vote “Yes” for our school and community.

My father, Rollie Morris, was a teacher and coach at Hall High School for 33 years, and he had great pride in this school and community. When he started teaching in 1963, the school was already 50 years old. Now with the school turning 100 years old, we are faced with a building that is not fully accessible to students with disabilities or to students with injuries that limit their mobility. Is it fair that these students have to stay in one hallway or go down stairs on their backside?

Schools are a reflection of the pride of a community, and Hall High School is no different. We have always taken pride in the accomplishments of our students — in academics and athletics — and when the community comes together to support the new school building, we set an example that our community cares about education and strives to make this a great place to live.

There has been much concern about the cost to taxpayers, including many misconceptions about the actual impact of passing the referendum. For a $100,000 house, it will cost $282.65 or 77 cents per day. This is equal to $5.39 per week — our students are worth $5.39 per week!

Another reason I think we need this new school is for our future generations. I have two young daughters who are excited to go to Hall High School. Building a school is not just for them, but also for their children and their grandchildren. The new building will give our great teachers more technology and educational tools, which will greatly enhance the education of future students at Hall High School. The more up-to-date our building is, the more opportunities will be available for our students to be more competitive in today’s world.

My mother was a teacher at JFK Elementary in Spring Valley for over 20 years. She taught me many years ago that if you ever had the opportunity to improve a child’s education, you owe it to them to do so. This opportunity has presented itself to the voters of the Hall school district; I am taking advantage of this opportunity and hope you will too. As a community, let’s take the first step toward providing a building that the Hall High School community can be proud of for another 100 years! Vote “Yes” on April 9!